The efficacy of the fungus Metarhizium rileyi (Farlow) Kepler, S. A. Rehner & Humber (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) against the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and the impact on the community of epigeans predators as well as the natural occurrence of native fungal strains were evaluated after sequential sprays in maize. In the first season, the infestation was lower than 0.2 larvae per plant throughout the three fungal sprays and no significant difference was observed in the number of infected larvae among treatments. In the second season, insect population reached an average of 0.8 larvae per plant between the second and third sprays and the number of larvae succumbed by M. rileyi was higher in fungal-treated plots in the following weeks. Molecular characterization of the collected isolates on mummified larvae revealed the introduction of a new isolate did not eliminate the native strain on the fungal-treated plots. In both seasons, the diversity and abundance of predator species in the plots were not affected by any of the treatments. We showed that applications of selected strains of M. rileyi early in the season have no significant impact on the occurrence of natural enemies in maize.
Keywords: Entomopathogenic fungi; Fall armyworm; Microbial control; Natural enemies.
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